December 22, 1999
To: East York Community Council
From: Ted Tyndorf
Director of Community Planning, East District
Preliminary Evaluation Reportapplications For Official Plan And Zoning By-Law
Amendments File No. L.O. Zba. 2/99revenue Properties Company Limitedeast York Town
Centre - 45 Overlea Boulevard
Purpose:
This report provides preliminary evaluation on new
applications for:
an Official Plan amendment to permit the East York
Town Centre to obtain zoning by-law amendments for
minor changes to their existing shopping plaza without
submitting Master Concept Plan; and,
a Zoning By-law amendment to implement a single overall
parking standard of 3.5 parking spaces per 100 sq. m. of
gross leasable floor area for the first 40,000 sq. m. of gross
leasable floor area.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
None
Recommendations:
(1) It is recommended that East York Community Council convene a Public Meeting (under the
Planning Act) to consider the Official Plan and rezoning applications and that this meeting
be scheduled for the first quarter of the year 2000.
Background:
This application concerns the East York Town Centre shopping plaza which is located on the south
side of Overlea Boulevard between the east and west extensions of Thorncliffe Drive. The Plaza is
situated on an 8.1 hectare (20 acre) site and is surrounded by high-rise residential apartments to the
south, south-east and south-west and a mix of offices, retail commercial and light industrial uses
directly to the north, east and west.
The applicants Walker, Nott, Dragicevic Associates Limited, acting on behalf of Revenue Properties
Company Limited propose that Council amend East York's Official Plan and Zoning By-law 1916
in order to establish one overall parking standard of 3.5 spaces per 100 square metres of gross
leasable floor area.
The Official Plan designates the site East York Town Centre - Mixed-Use Area and Special Policy
Area 7. The Mixed-Use Area policies provide for its development with the highest possible densities
(3.0 to 4.0 times the lot area) and the highest order of uses in the East York Centre. The policies
applicable to Special Area 7 require that prior to the enactment of zoning by-laws for this site a
Master Concept Plan be introduced into the Official Plan via an Official Plan amendment to ensure
that the permitted development occurs in a comprehensive manner.
The Current Commercial General (C1) zoning of the site permits its development with a variety of
retail commercial uses and requires that parking be tailored to each individual use. This means that
parking has to be re-calculated each time the plaza is re-tenanted. This is administratively
cumbersome and out of line with generally accepted municipal by-law practices. Accordingly, the
applicant has applied to have a single parking standard applied on a plaza wide basis.
An Official Plan amendment is necessary to allow the rezoning without the preparation of a Master
Concept Plan.
Comments:
The local issues associated with this application include the adequacy of the proposed parking, and
the necessity of a Master Concept Plan for a rezoning of this magnitude.
In support of the application the applicant, retained a transportation consultant to evaluate the
pertinent parking supply and demand variables and to provide their assessment of what is a suitable
overall parking standard for the plaza. Staff will be reviewing this study.
Since this application is surrounded by industrial, commercial and high rise residential uses a
community information meeting may not be needed. It is recommended that the City Clerk be
directed to schedule the Public Meeting required under the Planning Act when the final
recommnedation report is available.
Contact:
Jean Besz
Senior Planner East York District Office
Tel: (416) 397-4647
Fax: (416) 397-4548
E-mail- jbesz@borough.eastyork.on.ca
Ted Tyndorf, MCIP, RPP
Director of Community Planning, East District
